No Churn Mocha Rocky Road Ice Cream Drumsticks and Sandwiches

Silky smooth, creamy and delicious is this homemade mocha rocky road ice cream that doesn’t need an ice cream machine as it requires no churning. You can serve the ice cream in cones as frozen drumsticks, sandwiches or just plain, scooped into a bowl. It’s so easy to make and so delicious that I will venture to say you might be hard pressed going back to commercial ice cream.

I can’t say enough about the texture of this mocha rocky road ice cream. You know how some commercial ice creams develop ice crystals? Well this one doesn’t. It stays smooth and creamy all throughout. You also get a wonderful contrast in textures with the addition of chocolate flakes, mini marshmallows and diced walnuts. It’s hard to choose between rocky road ice cream and pralines and cream ice cream.

Start by melting ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Then mix in one teaspoon of canola or any light vegetable oil. Spread the chocolate as thinly as possible on a baking sheet and freeze it while you make the ice cream. The frozen chocolate can be broken into small flakes and you’ll end up with seemingly more chocolate than you started with. The chocolate flakes also add a very interesting texture, thin and crisp like an egg shell, easily breaking with every bite in the ice cream.

Fold the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture to get a fluffy, silky smooth and delicious bowl of heaven. Then fold in the nuts, mini marshmallows and chocolate flakes in 3 parts. I actually made homemade marshmallows the weekend before. Homemade marshmallows, by the way, are really easy to make and last a long time.

Cover the ice cream and freeze it until firm.

Savor a scoop or two or three…

A fun way to serve and enjoy the ice cream is to scoop it into sugar cones and freeze them to make ice cream drumsticks.

Cut a large circle out of parchment paper and divide it into 4 equal parts. Each part should extend about 1 ½ inches above the sugar cone.

Wrap the parchment paper around the sugar cone and tape it to secure.

Fill the cone with as much ice cream as possible, pushing gently to the bottom, as well as filling to the top edge of the parchment paper. The goal is to fill the cone so that there’s ice cream in every bite. Freeze the filled cones until the ice cream is solid. To keep the cones upright, I just improvised and placed them in empty kitchen paper towel rolls that I cut in half. Those empty paper towel rolls do come in handy, just like when I used one to shape heart cookies. Just be careful not to slam the freezer door so the ice cream cones don’t topple over.

Melt 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips then mix in ¼ cup canola or any light vegetable oil. Assemble the melted chocolate, a plate of diced walnuts and a plate of sugar sprinkles. Peel the parchment paper off of the frozen ice cream cone.

Dip the ice cream cone upside down into the bowl of chocolate. The chocolate will harden quickly so immediately sprinkle the ice cream with walnuts or sprinkles before it sets. Store the chocolate-coated ice cream cones in the freezer until ready to serve.

That’s looking really lush. You get the texture of silky, delicious ice cream against the crisp texture of the chocolate shell surrounding it, plus the slight crunch from the sugar sprinkles or the walnuts and more crispness from the thin chocolate flakes mixed within. Then once in a while you’ll encounter a soft, springy marshmallow and diced walnuts. It’s really yummy!

Another option is to make ice cream sandwiches with graham crackers. I actually baked the graham crackers. Homemade graham crackers are also really easy to make and so good, but store bought graham crackers would work just fine.

Line a pan with foil, arrange graham crackers on the bottom and spread an even layer of ice cream.

Top with another layer of graham crackers. Cover the pan with foil or plastic wrap and freeze until the ice cream is solid.

Lift the ice cream out with the foil and slice into individual portions. Keep the sliced ice cream sandwiches in an airtight container in the freezer.

Line a 9-inch x 13-inch baking sheet, or any similar size dish with parchment paper. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Blend in the canola oil. Spread the chocolate mixture evenly on the lined baking sheet to make a very thin layer of chocolate. Place in freezer to set.

In a large bowl, mix together the instant coffee, cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Add the boiling water mixing until completely dissolved.

Stir in the sweetened condensed milk into the coffee mixture until well blended. Chill in the refrigerator.

Whip the heavy cream in the bowl of a stand mixer using the wire whip. Start on slow speed to avoid splatters, and then gradually increase to high speed. Whip the cream until it is thick and holds its shape in stiff peaks.

Using a silicon spatula, fold the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture until well blended.

Take out the chocolate from the freezer and break it into small flakes

Fold the chocolate flakes, marshmallows and walnuts into the whipped cream mixture.

Pour the ice cream into an air tight container and freeze until firm. Will yield 1.5 quarts.

Optional serving variations:

Ice Cream Cone Drumsticks:

Cut parchment paper into a large circle. Fold the circle in half twice to make 4 equal shapes. Using the folds as a guide, cut out each shape. Each cutout should be about 1.5 inches longer than the length of your sugar cone. Starting at the point of the cone, wrap the cones with the parchment paper cutouts. Tape to secure.

Fill a sugar cone with ice cream, from the bottom of the cone to the top edge of the parchment paper. Freeze the filled cones until firm. To hold each cone upright, place it in an empty kitchen paper towel roll that has been cut in half. Place the cones in an open container to keep them stable. Freeze until the ice cream is solid